Joelle Lumb

Co-developed with business leaders the post-merger integration strategy for GfK (9000 people), aligning teams, optimizing organizations, and mobilizing talent to drive growth, operational efficiency, and a unified performance culture. TRANSFORM ORGANIZATIONS: I partnered with regional leaders to redesign commercial structures in line with new growth challenges—eliminating redundancies, managing divestments, and ensuring agile, high-performing organizations. MANAGE AND DEVELOP TALENTS: to ensure sustainable leadership continuity, I launched a comprehensive program to identify and retain high-potential employees, redefined managerial competencies post-merger, and strengthened succession pipelines for critical roles. HARMONIZE CULTURE AND INCREASE ENGAGEMENT: in order to reduce resistance and build a shared identity, I developed a global change management playbook for local teams, facilitated cultural alignment workshops across multiple countries, and led the harmonization of HR benefits and policies. DRIVE HR TRANSFORMATION ACROSS EXPERTISE AREAS: I mobilized and united regional HR teams around common goals, fostering collaboration, operational excellence, and high engagement to ensure consistent, impactful delivery.

As part of the preparation for the acquisition of GfK (9,000 employees across 67 countries), I led the pre-acquisition HR strategy—anticipating organizational shifts, planning Day 1 readiness and post-merger integration, shaping internal communications, and addressing employee and social body concerns. PREPARE ORGANIZATIONS: to ensure a seamless transition with no business disruption, I defined the organizational design principles in partnership with senior executives and BAIN consultants, co-developed the first layers of the new structure, and facilitated structured alignment sessions with 22 leaders to synchronize business priorities and inform strategic decisions. REASSURE AND ENGAGE EMPLOYEES: in response to potential cultural shock, I implemented a global communication and engagement strategy to promote adoption of the new vision and strengthen employee confidence. I also initiated the strategy for identifying and retaining key talent critical to business continuity. ENSURE COMPLIANCE: I assessed and mitigated legal and social risks linked to the change of ownership, prepared and led social dialogue with employee representatives, and managed divestitures mandated by the European Commission to meet antitrust requirements

In a post–spin-off context, realign the commercial organization by separating Sales and Customer Success roles with strong local anchoring. Reposition with this strategic redesign, sales teams as true “hunters,” supported by a dedicated commission plan that reignite performance and fuel growth ambitions. Oversee implementation in close collaboration with senior commercial leaders. SHIFTING PARADIGM: develop a sales-driven culture within a company historically focused on consulting, while minimizing talent attrition. I redefined commercial roles and co-designed with local Directors and commercial leaders optimal Sales/Customer Succes structure across 19 markets, each model was tailored to product and customer specifics, achieving alignment and efficiency without additional headcount. ACCOMPANY THE TRANSITION: I secured buy-in from commercial leaders through implementation workshops that identified local change agents responsible for strengthening adherence and empowered managers to build and sustain new structures. I launched the 'Customer Success & Sales Academies' to develop skills and career pathways and introduced targeted talent programs to secure succession for key roles. I also led social negotiations in Europe and and successfully obtained salesforce adoption of the new commission plan. DRIVE PERFORMANCE: in partnership with Finance, I designed, modeled, and deployed an innovative incentive system—initially for 400, later expanded to 2,500 salespeople—managing both adoption challenges and stakeholder alignment. PREPARE FOR EVOLUTION: I led the establishment of CS hubs in China and the Philippines, introduced Workforce Planning tools and collaborated with global teams to design dedicated pre- and post-sales teams for future scalability.

Transition from a country/market-based to a Business Unit structure to strengthen commercial and operational efficiency: define the organisational design, identify talent, and deploy the corresponding HR strategy. Build the preparation plan for the spin-off of Nielsen's Retail business. ADJUST THE ORGANIZATION: in partnership with the new BU leaders, I defined the target structure, adjusted local organizations, redefined key roles, and secured succession plans through promoting internal mobility. I also implemented a dedicated commission plan for the sales forces. RESTRUCTURE AND OPTIMISE: optimize the organization by leveraging the BUs and exiting unprofitable markets. I managed a workforce reduction plan affecting approximately 500 positions (excluding North America) and orchestrated the closure of seven country operations. PREPARE THE SPIN-OFF: separate the Retail activities from Media and ensure the operational and financial viability of the new entity. I developed and executed the engagement strategy with social partners, conducted 21 TUPE transfers across Europe with my team, supervised the creation of new legal entities, and represented the company’s interests against European Works Council in Dutch court proceedings s before the European Works Council.

Developed and executed the HR strategy for a region generating $1.2 billion in revenue across 33 countries. Built and led a high-performing team of 10 direct reports and over 80 HR professionals, managing a budget of $15 million. SUPPORT GROWTH: I helped exceed operational growth targets by implementing a Sales Incentive Plan for more than 400 salespeople. I also strengthened organizational agility agility and performance through targeted people and culture initiatives that enabled sustainable business expansion. ALIGNMENT OF REGIONAL HR TEAMS: I adapted and localized global HR strategies for Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions, ensuring seamless implementation and impact. I served as a strategic advisor to senior management and as an active member of the global HR leadership team.

Leading the deployment of the global HR strategy to transform Operations and Product organizations in Europe within the framework of an outsourcing and hub model. ESTABLISHMENT OF A HUB IN POLAND: I directed a major nearshoring restructuring, impacting 250 positions across Europe, and successfully established an operational hub of 700 employees in Poland. RESTRUCTURING LOCAL TEAMS: I integrated Product and Operations teams to drive organizational alignment and implemented a cost-saving plan linked to the restructuring. I fostered cross-cultural collaboration through targeted workshops and training programs. MANAGING ACQUISITIONS: I led mergers and acquisitions activities in Europe, including the successful acquisition and integration of Gracenote and VisualIQ.